Lehigh University Calls Out Donald Trump For ‘Racist, Sexist, And Demeaning’ Remarks, Revokes Honorary Degree
Donald Trump will be one accolade poorer as Lehigh University faculty has voted to revoke his honorary degree. More than 80 percent of the faculty wanted the school’s board of trustees to rescind the honorary degree, which was presented to Trump thirty years ago.
Lehigh Valley Live reported that 75.6 percent of the faculty participated in the voting, which was done online. The results showed a staggering 83 percent of the voters were in favor of the university stripping Trump of the honorary degree, as reported by Huffington Post.
The faculty members of the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, university voted on the motion, which says Trump exhibited behavior far from Lehigh values. Trump is deemed unworthy of the honorary degree on the basis that the president has “a long history of numerous documented statements that are antithetical to [Lehigh’s] core values.” The motion also indicated that Trump has uttered remarks that are “beneath the standard for Lehigh’s honorary degree holders.”
According to the school, President Trump made statements that “do not meet Lehigh’s standards for respectful discourse where differences of opinion exist.”
Lehigh also explained that any member of the university’s on-campus community would be subjected to disciplinary action and may possibly be dismissed if caught making statements similar to what Trump has said.
Faculty members at Lehigh University have voted overwhelmingly in favor of rescinding President Trump's honorary degree https://t.co/fH5ThbLRhs pic.twitter.com/2nPo5sFk69
— CNN (@CNN) February 28, 2018
Lehigh cited the leaked audio recording of Trump telling Billy Bush to “grab ’em by the [expletive]” as one of the reasons Trump will lose his honorary degree. The motion also mentioned the time Trump commented on the appearance of Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina as well as his statements on a federal judge’s Mexican ancestry. According to Fox News Insider, these are a few of the instances Trump proved he was unworthy of the accolade from Lehigh University.
Interestingly, Trump is not the only personality who had his honorary degree revoked. Disgraced actor Bill Cosby had his rescinded by the university in 2015. The decision to revoke Cosby’s degree was made because of the comedian’s past behavior that was deemed “antithetical to the values of Lehigh University and inconsistent with the character and high standards that honorary degree recipients are expected to exemplify.”
Lehigh also recently revoked the honorary degree given to Steve Wynn, the real estate businessman accused of sexual harassment and rape, for “acts and conduct that are inimical to the core values of the university.”
Trump was granted the honorary degree as part of a Lehigh tradition in which commencement speakers are awarded such degrees. Trump was chosen to be the speaker by the graduating class of 1988.
This is the second time Trump will lose an honorary degree. In 2015, Robert Gordon University, one of the top universities in Scotland, rescinded the honorary doctorate of business administration it awarded Trump in 2010.
